Dancing doll



y 10,1956 J. JUPlTER 2,754,121

DANCING DOLL Filed June 22. 1953 Zmventor 88 15, T M/m 2141. {71% attorney United States Patent DANCING DOLL Jacob Jupiter, Valley Stream, N. Y. Application June 22, 1953, Serial No. 362,995 1 Claim. (Cl. 272-57) This invention relates to a doll which, in addition to having the usual features, is so constructed that a child is enabled to dance with it and imitate with the doll ballroom style dancing.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a doll with a structure whereby it is enabled to appear to dance with a child.

Another object is to provide a doll which can be used to teach a child to dance.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structure to be secured to a doll for the accomplishment of these purposes.

Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and the appended drawings.

These drawings are:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the use of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detailed the doll;

Fig. 3 is a detailed doll;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a modification of this invention to be used to connect the foot of the doll with the foot of the child;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing details of the modification of Fig. 4.

In general the invention relates to a flexible doll having provisions enabling it to be secured to the hands and feet of a child in order that the child may pretend to dance with the doll.

In the drawings the doll itself is represented generally by the numeral 1 and the child by the numeral 2. The doll is so designed as to be flexible at the joints either as a result of its being made of fabric or as a result of the use of hinges, both of which are well known in the art. In the preferred embodiment the doll is made of colored fabric and stuffed.

Turning to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that the hand 3 of the doll has secured thereto a strap 4 extending over the back of the hand. The strap 4 is preferably made of elastic material and is secured at its ends 5 by stitching or other suitable fastening. The length of hand strap 4 is preferably such that the space between the strap 4 and the hand 3 is slightly less than that necessary to accommodate the left hand 14 of the child 2. Thus, it Will be necessary to stretch the elastic hand strap 4 slightly to accommodate hand 14, and it in turn will grip the childs hand more firmly.

Feet 11 of the doll have attached thereto foot straps 12 which are comparable to hand strap 4. These straps are disposed beneath the feet 11 of the doll and secured to the feet 11 by stitching 13. Foot straps 12 are likewise made of an elastic material and are of such length that they must be stretched slightly to accommodate a foot 16 of the child between the dolls foot 11 and the strap 12.

Secured between the left shoulder 9 and the left rear perspective showing the hand of perspective showing the foot of the portion 10 of the waist of doll is. a shoulder strap 8. The strap is also made of an elastic material and is preferably of a length such that it lies close to the doll when not: in use.. It. is disposed. in a' position; that will enable the: child to insert. a. hand between the shoulder strap 8' and the body of the. doll. It is obviousthat straps 4, 8 and 12 may be. madev of: different materials, may be of different lengths, and may be positioned in positions different than those disclosed in the drawings as long as they serve the purpose of this invention. In particular shoulder strap 8 need not necessarily be of the length or in the particular position shown in Fig. 1.

In operating the device of this invention a child may imitate the characteristic dance style of ballroom dancing with the doll. In order to pretend to dance with the doll 1 the child 2 ordinarily will insert his left hand 14 between hand strap 4 and the right hand 3 of the doll 1. He will put his left foot 16 between the foot strap 12 and the right foot 11 of the doll such that the dolls foot rests upon his. He will do likewise with his right foot 16, placing it between left foot 11 and strap 12 of the doll. His right hand 15 will be placed around the back of the doll 1, in the usual position for dancing, and beneath shoulder strap 8. The left arm 6 and hand 7 of the doll will then rest upon the childs right arm in substantially the correct position. It will be seen that when the child walks or dances the doll 1 will be caused to take equivalent steps, thus enabling the child to pretend to dance and to practice various dance steps.

A modification of this invention is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This modification creates a slightly more realistic impression inasmuch as it allows the dolls foot 11 to appear to be in front of rather than above the foot 16 of the child. This modification consists of a foot extension 17 made of leather, rubber or other suitable flexible material having a strap 18 thereon which is secured to the foot extension 17 by stitching 19 or other comparable securing means. The foot extension 17 may be of such width as to fit tightly within the foot strap 12 on the dolls foot 11 with its main surface contiguous with the bottom of the dolls foot. Alternatively, foot extension 17 may be secured by stitching, hook fasteners or by any other means to the bottom of the foot of any doll not having foot straps 12.

The foot strap 18 on foot extension 17 is preferably made of an elastic material and is of the proper dimensions to hold the foot 16 of the child.

The foot extension 17 once secured, either by strap 12 or any other means, to the foot 11 of the doll 1 may be used in a manner comparable to that of the structure shown in Fig. 1, the child merely placing his foot beneath the straps 18 on each extension 17.

It will be understood that the above embodiments are for the purpose of illustration only and that various modifications according to this invention may be made of the dolls shown and described. For example, if it is preferred to use less than all of the straps 4, 8 and 12 or 18 the device may be modified accordingly without departure from the invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A doll having foot extension and engaging means on each foot for use to enable said doll to act as a dancing partner for a child, said means including an elongated platform made of flexible and substantially planar material, a surface on said platform at one end thereof secured to the foot of said doll, a foot-engaging strap secured transversely of said platform and positioned on the same side of said platform as said surface and at the other end of said platform, said strap being made of elastic material and proportioned to accommodate and References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Greene Aug. 2, 1904 Chase Dec. 19, 1911 Lundgren May 28, 1918 10 Feist Apr. 12, 1921 4 Feist May 17, 1921 Wenzel -2 Feb. 17, 1925 Hockmeyer Sept. 6, 1927 Stein Apr. 1, 1930 Bradley Nov. 16, 1937 Boyce Jan. 6, 1953 Montez June 22, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Dec. 17, 1946 

